Just like any other sport, volunteers are essential to the running of powerchair football as well. Our volunteers assist with setting up before and cleaning up after match days, assisting with check-ins on arrival and various other things crucial to the running of our match days.
Our officials are one of the keys to our competition, with operating the score board, filling out score sheets and assisting our referees with the off-field requirements for each and every match. Without this contribution, our match days aren’t able to run efficiently, so it is vital for the overall running of our programs.
Volunteering is also crucial because it allows our committee members, many of whom are parents, carers or support workers to focus on our athletes.
What does a volunteer do?
Our volunteers have an important job. Some of their responsibilities include:
- Setting up – this includes positioning goal posts, retrieving training equipment (balls, training cones, etc.) and moving the score table into position among other things.
- Assisting with loan wheelchairs – while it is the athlete and their support person’s responsibility, sometimes additional help is required to attach guards or adjust the wheelchair to suit different athletes.
- Assisting during matches – retrieving balls during play when they go out of bounds is a great help to our match officials and allows matches to run smoothly.
- Cleaning up – this involves returning posts, balls, training equipment and loan wheelchairs to the storage area.
What does an official do?
Our officials are the referee’s assistants, so their jobs are vital to the running of each match day. These include:
- Scorekeeping – this involves filling out score sheets with goals and assists during matches, recording award votes after each match and checking stats afterwards.
- Scoreboard – Football NSW provides electronic score boards for our use. To assist our teams and referees with timing and scores during matches, our officials help run the scoreboard as well.
- Statistics – compiling match statistics for all matches is an important task. These are then sent on to our social media person for posting online.
I want to volunteer or be an official!
What do I do next?
If you want to become a volunteer or official, we would love to have you attend a match or training day to see what powerchair football is about and meet some amazing people.
We have athletes of all ages, genders and various disabilities, so interest in this group of people is important and helpful. We also encourage our volunteers and officials to undertake a Working With Children Check – more details can be found here.
Our coaches and volunteers are also required to submit a membership application. There are no fees for coaches and volunteers.
Membership Applications for the 2024 season are open, so please reach out below!